तेषां माता बहुविधं विनाशं पर्यचिन्तयत् ॥
अनागच्छत्सु पुत्रेषु भैक्षकाले ऽतिगच्छति ॥
धार्तराष्ट्रैर् हता न स्युर् विज्ञाय कुरुपुंगवाः ॥
मायान्वितैर् वा रक्षोभिः सुघोरैर् दृढवैरिभिः ॥
विपरीतं मतं जातं व्यासस्यापि महात्मनः ॥
इत्य् एवं चिन्तयाम् आस सुतस्नेहान्विता पृथा ॥
teṣāṃ mātā bahuvidhaṃ vināśaṃ paryacintayat ||
anāgacchatsu putreṣu bhaikṣakāle 'tigacchati ||
dhārtarāṣṭrair hatā na syur vijñāya kurupuṃgavāḥ ||
māyānvitair vā rakṣobhiḥ sughorair dṛḍhavairibhiḥ ||
viparītaṃ mataṃ jātaṃ vyāsasyāpi mahātmanaḥ ||
ity evaṃ cintayām āsa sutasnehānvitā pṛthā ||
"Their mother pondered manifold disasters, when her sons did not return and the hour for gathering alms had passed: 'Have the bulls of the Kurus not been slain by the Dhartarashtras, who recognized them, or by rakshasas full of illusion, most terrible, relentless in enmity? Could even the prediction of the great Vyasa have proved false?' — thus Pritha pondered, filled with love for her sons."
d37ad0d11749 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:44:41 PM UTC
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Here a mother's love fears for sons who are late in returning. It is telling that Kunti, the moment the time has passed, pictures every kind of misfortune to herself: the anxiety of a loving heart hastens to imagine the worst. Here is a mother's tenderness, for whom any delay of her children is cause for fear. It is telling that she doubts even the word of Vyasa: grief unsettles even faith. Thus the scripture shows a mother's anxiety; and Kunti's fears are about to be dispelled by joy.